HOMER JUICE ON HAYWARD

[Bretsky]

Could he start ?

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-hayward-playing-like-a-pro-r369frj-164162436.html

[Bretsky]

the little blip also stood out......"Shields seems to be regressing"
I had high hopes for that little fast buzzer

[Joemailman]

I'm not surprised Hayward is doing well early. He has a reputation for being a smart, instinctive player. I wouldn't get too worked up yet about the "Shields is regressing" talk. We're 11 days away from the first preseason game. Plenty of time for trends to change.

[RashanGary]

Shields might be OK. I wonder if he came in out of shape or not working on his game. The coaches seem friggin pissed off with him.


I'd love to see House or Shields win the outside spot. I don't know if Hayward is a football genius or not, but we need a 2nd inside DB for our dime defense. Hayward seems like the only real candidate for that, as well as the only real candidate to play that inside nickle spot if Woodson goes down. I'm hoping Hayward can put his efforts into playing inside. It's a lot more complicated than just playing outside corner where you have the boundary to simplify leverages.

If it comes to it, if he's the best (and there is a chance) then you almost have to do it. I'm hoping House or Shields make it possible for him to really focus on that inside spot.

[Lurker64]

On the second day of the draft, TT made a comment to the effect of "there were scenarios where we would have taken [Hayward] in the first round." As Ted does not lie, this means that TT had Hayward no lower than #28 on his big board (and two of the players higher than him, he drafted.)

Here's hoping he's great. TT could stand to get a 'hit' on a CB he drafted.

[RashanGary]

On the second day of the draft, TT made a comment to the effect of "there were scenarios where we would have taken [Hayward] in the first round." As Ted does not lie, this means that TT had Hayward no lower than #28 on his big board (and two of the players higher than him, he drafted.)

Here's hoping he's great. TT could stand to get a 'hit' on a CB he drafted.


That means they liked Jarel Worthy a lot too. Makes sense that they traded up into the 2nd round twice. They got 3 players with 1st round grades.

Yikes!

[rbaloha1]

Another football player -- not a flashy player with nice measurables.

Expect to start along with Worthy and Perry. Its amazing the Packers finished 15-1 last season with a horrible defense.

[Smidgeon]

That means they liked Jarel Worthy a lot too. Makes sense that they traded up into the 2nd round twice. They got 3 players with 1st round grades.

Yikes!

Exactly what I was going to say and part of why I'm so interested on this draft class. On TT's board he got three first rounders.

[Tony Oday]

19-0

[Guiness]

That means they liked Jarel Worthy a lot too. Makes sense that they traded up into the 2nd round twice. They got 3 players with 1st round grades.

Yikes!

3 defensive players with first round grades on the Packers board. Given TT's history drafting DL and CB (do we have one he drafted playing? Three UDFA's and an UFA by my count) I don't know how good a thing that is!

Still, I'll more than take it. With the record we had last year, if we have three guys with first round talent joining the defense, we're in good shape for sure!

aside: sat at a table in a beer garden next to a guy with a Cutler shirt on today. Ouch, he was a bad sport, more on that later :evil:

[George Cumby]

Stop with the "three picks with first round talent talk", y'all.

It's giving me an erection.

[Fritz]

Packerrats + training camp = Cialis

[Iron Mike]

Stop with the "three picks with first round talent talk", y'all.

It's giving me an erection.

http://cdn.ksk.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/lucille-look.gif

[pbmax]

Shields-Aid.

How's this for something to prop Shields up? First year, he comes out of nowhere to grab a spot, not so much a roster spot (raw talent could earn him that) but a nickel-starting sport by virtue of injury (wasn't House hurt that year?), the world's longest learning curve (Bush) and the frequency of playing nickel that year. That he did not fall down or cover a man who was on the sidelines was a triumph for him. That he was often in position deep and could close on the ball were two of the things he actually knew how to do (speed and catch).

Second year, no minicamp or OTAs and he is a member of the Packers not the Saints (just kidding Aaron!). Head is WAY inflated and camp is condensed. Except for Bush, no one steps forward and he earns the quasi starting spot on inertia alone. In season is not the time to strip down to basic technique and he struggles.

This year, after multiple 2011 failures, he really has to learn the position, even including changing his technique (which I will guess was poor) on the things he succeeded with in his first year. He is, by one crude narrative, starting from scratch and almost a rookie (with 20 or so NFL starts). Kinda like Tiger Woods rebuilding his swing but with fewer traffic accidents and Denny's waitresses.

Give him all of camp. See if he can put the puzzle back together with a full camp. He will play in the fourth preseason game if he is still adjusting and then we will get a better picture.

[Smidgeon]

House's rookie year was last year. Shields' rookie year was the year before.

[smuggler]

^ Beaten.

House was a rookie in 2011, so it wasn't his injury in 2010 that allowed Shields to slide into the CB spot.

[run pMc]

Agree, it wasn't House. Shields got the nod because the depth was that bad. Your CBs were Woodson, and an emerging Tramon, with backups like Pat Lee, J.Bush, Josh Gordy, and I think (?) Frank Walker. Yikes, I feel better about the CB depth now.

[smuggler]

To be fair, Tramon was pretty darn good in 2009 also.

[MJZiggy]

Packerrats + training camp = Cialis
Tease.

[Patler]

Agree, it wasn't House. Shields got the nod because the depth was that bad. Your CBs were Woodson, and an emerging Tramon, with backups like Pat Lee, J.Bush, Josh Gordy, and I think (?) Frank Walker. Yikes, I feel better about the CB depth
now.

Shields beat out mostly Lee, who was dinged up again and Brandon Underwood who was coming off the arrest for solicitation that Spring/early summer in the Dells, and was also hurt for a while. Both were given opportunity after opportunity in camp to be the 3rd corner, but had very disappointing camps. Shields sort of got the job as being the last man standing, while showing a lot of hustle.

Bush was playing cornety, or safeback, but mostly special teams.
Walker was here in 2007, long before Shields.
Josh Gordy was not with the Packers in TC that year, they signed him to the PS after the Jags released him.

[Guiness]

I think it was Lee's job to lose, and he did.

[BobDobbs]

I think what PBmax mentioned about Shields coming back with a big head is true. He came in as a free agent with one year at the position under his belt. He shines in camp. Then because of Al Harris' injury and the mediocre depth in back of him he easily wins the job. He plays well behind a strong pass rush. He picks off two in the NFC Championship and they win the freakin' Super Bowl. He had to feel like this NFL thing just isn't that hard.

I'm trying to determine if the coaches are really serious about the more physical player winning the spot, or if this is a strategy to make sure the Shields has to work hard to get on the field. He will never be our most physical corner, but he is so graceful around the ball. Bush can play well at the line, as a blitzer, and coming forward with the play in front of him. When he turns to run downfield he has a hell of a time finding the ball. I remember after Shield's first NFL interception Dom Capers said something to the effect of it's good to start grabbing a couple of those because teams feel like you want to toss a few at the new guy, But, once you start taking them away they have to think twice. Well, I think that Jarrett Bush is a great guy to throw a few up against. That's why I don't want to see him on the outside.

This is a much better secondary. I don't think that Hayward will see much of the field barring injury. But, injuries are part of the NFL and anytime a team faces a depleted secondary they are going to spread the field and see who you've got on the bench. It'll be great to have someone that can come in and play the position.

[Fritz]

"Well, I think that Jarrett Bush is a great guy to throw up about."

There. Fixed.

[pbmax]

Lee and Underwood, that was the competition. You could always count on them to underwhelm.

[smuggler]

I forgot that Al Harris actually owned for a little while.

[pbmax]

Well according to Silverstein and Dunne, House did move to the number 1 units today. Bush went back to #2s. He is still with the 1s in the dime.